I thought the point of the Phaeton was that the CEO wanted to see what VW could do (and show the world),............its concepts made it to Audis and Bentleys, and perhaps that was the point all along

Sounds like they took a page out of the Cadillac book from the late Fifties. Their prestige had been thought to have slipped post war so they proceeded to wow the world via the Eldorado Brougham with no intention that it be a ' success' or even make a profit for that matter. After its short run many of its innovative features were implemented throughout the various GM lines as well as the industry at large.

PP has positioned itself squarely as an aspirational good - something that you get when you've "made it", when you've built up wealth that can be inherited, passed on to the next generation. The black and white picture and the clothing and hairstyles convey that image, too - somewhat old-fashioned, conservative, successful etc.

He can't be that well off, considering he couldn't afford to replace his coat when he wore out the elbows.

Someone once told me "Bents for gents; Rolls for proles". I take the point that a Bentley Continental is simply a Phaeton with some neat coachbuilding but dammit I want one next time I upgrade. Free Breitling in the dashboard for what it's worth.

If anyone has £500k+ to drop and wants something a bit different, and practical, consider the Bentley Flying Star, which is basically a custom-made sporting brake (what we in the home counties call a station wagon) with a convertible Continental as donor car. Useful for the undertaker who wants to give a really high-end service.